


Paradise Lost

by kneelingroses



Category: The A-Team (2010)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:14:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25868008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kneelingroses/pseuds/kneelingroses
Summary: On the container ship in the movie, Murdock tells Face that he trust him and he's the one with the most to lose out of the four of them.  What - or who - would he have to lose?????
Relationships: H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock/Original Female Character(s), Templeton "Faceman" Peck & John "Hannibal" Smith
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

Two hours and twenty-five minutes.

Two hours and twenty-five minutes was the time that it would normally take for the young woman to drive from her mother’s penthouse apartment in north Atlanta to her father’s house outside of Fort Benning.

This time she drove it in a little under two hours. A personal best for her which was pulled off by the combination of the lack of patrol officers on the busy interstate and her blatant disregard for the traffic laws between the two cities. She had been one to always believe rules were made to be broken. She knew that her father would share her joy in the accomplishment. And if she was being honest with herself as she pulled into the driveway of her father’s house, for the first time in her life she really didn’t care what he thought. Which was a complete lie. The problem was that she did care about what he thought of her. Too much. She needed time away for herself. Time to relax and heal in private. Alone. Her father’s house would provide a safe place for her to relax and just find herself.

She turned her SUV off and opened her door quickly, grabbing her oversized purse from the passenger seat and jumping out of the vehicle, briskly walking to the front door, fumbling with her keys along the way. As she opened the large glass outer door she shook her keys furiously, satisfied that she had found the right one as it separated from the rest of the keys on the ring. “Thank you.” She said to herself as the key slid easily into the lock and turned, the heavy wood door opening in response. She entered the house and closed the door behind her, turning the deadbolt quickly before walking out of the foyer and down the small hall, throwing her keys in the ceramic bowl that sat on the small table in the hall as she rushed past it before turning the corner and opening the door immediately to her right. She smiled as she entered her bedroom and threw herself down on her bed, belly first, happy to be finally home. 

She sat up quickly and reached her hand out to the bedside lamp, turning it on as she checked the LED display of the small clock beside it. It was slightly after three in the afternoon and she was exhausted. Ella sighed as she realized that it was Friday. One week it had been exactly - her mother died one week ago. The formalities had all been dealt with quickly and efficiently. Her mother’s illness had dragged on so long that the final arrangements had been sorted out years before they were actually needed. 

To her great surprise she had not shed one single tear during the exhausting week. Part of which she thought was due to the fact that her mother was not suffering any longer. It was a relief that her mother had passed and Ella could move on with her own life.

She had done what was expected of her from everyone. She was a dutiful daughter and did the right thing. She took care of her ailing mother, putting her young life on hold to do so. And now here she was free at last - just two weeks shy of her 18th birthday and wealthy thanks to an inheritance from her mother. The rest of her life was in front of her and it was her intention to live the best life that she possibly could. 

She laid back down on the bed, turning on her side. But she needed to be alone for a bit first. There were too many other things that she needed to process. She did not want to be at her mother’s penthouse which was now her’s. The thought of grabbing her passport and going on an extended vacation appealed to her for all of five minutes before deciding to travel to her father’s house. The one place that she had felt loved and wanted during her childhood. Knowing that her father was away in Iraq and probably not due back for weeks, possibly months, would give her the solitude she needed to heal from her past and get her life together. She probably should have at least emailed him to let him know that she was going to be there but in the end she knew that he would not mind and she would email him as soon as she got up to let him know.

She closed her eyes, intending to rest them for only a second before quickly falling fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a retelling of a previous work I had posted on here - Nightmares and Revelations - that was unfinished. I didn't grow tired of that story but due to extreme (and I mean extreme) writers block on it and the fact I have time during the quarantine, I've decided to completely rewrite it using the same original character. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!! All kudos/comments are greatly appreciated!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Meu pai" is Portuguese for 'my father'

Colonel Hannibal Smith exited the taxi in front of his house, saying a quick thank you to the driver. Throwing his bag over his shoulder, he walked up his driveway staring at the SUV that was parked outside of his house. He recognized it immediately as the vehicle he had purchased for his daughter on her sixteenth birthday, smiling at the memory of the look on her face when she woke up that morning and saw it sitting in the driveway. It had been the only time since she was born that the two of them had actually been in the same country on her actual birthday and since it was her sixteenth, he went all out to surprise her.

He continued to walk towards the front door of his house, fishing his keys out of his pocket as he walked. He opened the door and entered his home, letting his large bag drop to the floor with a thud. “Ella?” He called his daughter’s name out softly as he made his way down the hall, throwing his keys into the ceramic bowl on the hall table alongside hers as he continued down the hall until he reached her bedroom door which was halfway opened. He peeked through the open door, pushing it open as he quietly walked into the room, crossing his arms at the sight before him.

Curled up on her side his daughter slept before him. He sat down beside her on the bed, uncrossing his arms as he brushed her red hair away from her face. Thankfully it had grown longer since the last time he had seen her and it was beautifully long again. He needed to find a way to delicately tell her that short hair was not a good look on her. “Ella.” He called her name again as he shook her shoulders gently, trying to wake his sleeping beauty.

Ella grunted as she opened her eyes slowly, laying on her back as she looked at her father. “Meu pai,” she said softly. “I thought you’d be in Iraq.”

Hannibal chuckled, “and I would have expected you in Atlanta.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I was about to ask you the same question.”

“I asked you first.”

“Yes you did.”

“Is it ok that I’m here?”

“Of course it is. This is your home too.”

“Mom died.”

“I’m so sorry Ella.” Hannibal managed after a moment. “When?”

“Week ago today.” She answered. “Everything’s been handled per her final instructions.” Ella sat up in bed, crossing her legs in front of her. “I just needed to get out of that apartment and I had nowhere else to go so I drove down here.”

Hannibal took his daughter’s small hands into his. “Why didn’t you email me and let me know what was going on?” He asked. “I would have came home and could have at least been there to support you.”

“I should have but I really didn’t think about it. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” He said. “There’s no need for that. You’re here now and I want you to stay as long as you need to.”

Ella giggled. “Is that an order?”

It was Hannibal’s turn to laugh. “I can make it one.”

“Sooooo...you never said what you were doing here?” Ella asked, trying to change the subject off of her.

“Is it ok that I’m here?” He laughed.

“Of course it is. This is your home too.” She replied, remembering their earlier exchange.

“Well we have two weeks R&R followed by eight weeks of refresher training courses on base.” Hannibal answered. “BA caught a commercial flight out of Germany to Chicago to visit his mother for a week before meeting back with the rest of us here. Face and Murdock will be here shortly.” He paused for a minute before continuing. “I didn’t know that you were going to be here when we planned to all just stay here together for the next ten weeks. I know you came here to get away.”

Ella nodded her head. She had never met his team but she knew the names of the soldiers that were under her father’s command. “It’s ok meu pai. One of the reasons you have this huge house is so you can accommodate everyone. It’ll be fun to meet the guys. I know I came here to get away but it’ll probably be good to have people around me.”

Hannibal nodded his head. “Murdock stays in the bedroom across the hall from you. The rest of us will be upstairs.” Hannibal stood up, looking down at his daughter. “I am sorry about your mom but I’m really glad to get to spend some time with you.” He bent down and kissed her on the top of her head. “I’m going to go get unpacked and take a shower.”

“OK meu pai.” Ella answered. “I’m just gonna hang in here for a little bit.” She watched as her father walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that this chapter makes references to child abuse - it is not detailed but it is there.

Ella took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she ran a hand through her hair. “Fucking shit.” She said to herself, shaking her head. Having her father and his team at the house was definitely not what she had in mind when she made the drive down to Benning. She had lied to her father moments earlier - she did not call him when her mother passed away on purpose. Ella knew that he would have done anything and everything in his power that he had to in order to get home to her and she did not want anyone hovering over her, asking her if she was ok every hour like she knew that he would.

She grabbed her purse and dug through it, finding a cosmetic bag and taking it to the en suite bathroom that was attached to her room. She flicked the light on and stood in front of the sink, opening the bag that did not contain her make-up but was full of medicine bottles instead.

It was time to medicate.

She pulled out a bottle at a time, placing them by the sink. Effexor, Lithium, Zyprexa, Lamictal, Restoril and Xanax. The nice cocktail of antidepressants, antipsychotic, mood stabilizer, and sedatives that kept her stable according to her doctor - while they took the edge off, she was still slightly unstable, at least in her opinion. The depression and anxiety that she felt were suffocating. The bottle of Adderaal that was at the very bottom of the bag was for recreational use. She had been proud of herself when she scammed her doctor out of that prescription. It was costing too much to get it off the street.

She opened the lithium and took a pill out, dry swallowing it as she closed the bottle and placed it back on the counter beside the rest of her medicine. That was the only pill due at this time and now she would be ok until bedtime.

The only thing that she had going for her, at least in her eyes, is if her father noticed her depression he would chalk it up to her being in mourning over her mother’s passing and while he would show concern for her, he would not pry or ask many questions.

She was not sad over her mother’s passing. On the contrary, she hoped the bitch was burning in hell. She had tried to be upset, tried to feel differently, but she could not bring herself to feel sorry or to even cry at her mother’s passing. Maybe her heart was truly broken beyond repair.

But her father didn’t need to know that - it was actually on the list of things that she did not want her father to find out about her. Certain things in her life were on a need to know basis and he just did not need to know. The need to discuss her issues was not something she wanted to go through with him; that’s what she paid her psychiatrist for.

He did not need to know that a week away from her eighteenth birthday she was still scared of the dark and slept with at least two nightlights in her room.

He did not need to know that she slept with her bedroom door locked so no one could come in.

He did not need to know about the handgun she kept in her bedside drawer for protection or the one she kept in her purse just in case she might need it. She did not have a concealed carry permit, only because she was too young to apply for one, but fuck it to hell and back, she carried it anyway. She was not even old enough to legally buy a handgun but it was easy enough to procure one if you knew where to look and who to ask.

He did not need to know that starting at a very young age her mother’s boyfriend used to come into her room at night to do things to her - and to make her do things to him.

He did not need to know that she discovered her mother knew about the abuse and turned a blind eye - never doing anything to stop it because she loved the man who was abusing her daughter more and was afraid to lose him.

He did not need to know about her suicide attempt eight months ago.

He did not need to know that her heart stopped three times - once in the ambulance on the way to the hospital and twice once she arrived there. The medical personnel managed to bring her back every single time. If the housekeeper had not have found her collapsed body on the bathroom floor when she did she would most certainly be dead.

He did not need to know about the ten days she spent on a psych ward in the hospital.

He did not need to know that his house was the only place in the world where she felt truly safe.

Lastly he did not need to know because she was terrified at how he would react. The details of what her father did for a living was unknown to her. She had stopped asking a couple of years ago when he told her that his work was classified and he really could not discuss it with her. What she did know was that he was special forces - a Ranger at that - and a Colonel no less. Secretly Ella thought that he was probably a badass. She did not want to see him go after the man who hurt her so bad when she was so young and get in trouble himself. She was not worth that.

Ella took another deep breath as she exited the bathroom, intent on unpacking her suitcase. “Motherfucker.” She said to herself as she realized that she left her suitcase in the back of her SUV when she had arrived earlier.


End file.
